Disposable bibs are well known in the art. Such bibs can be provided for use on babies during feeding. Disposable bibs can have a laminate construction comprising multiple layers. For instance, disposable bibs can include an absorbent paper layer for receiving spilled food material and a plastic film layer for preventing penetration of spilled liquids through the bib and onto the baby's clothing. Other multiple layer bib constructions are also known.
Disposable bibs can have the disadvantage that an infant wearer can puncture the bib, such as by biting. If the infant wearer then tears off a piece of the bib, the effective coverage of the wearer's clothes is decreased. Additionally, separate torn pieces of the bib create additional pieces of waste requiring disposal.
Adding a woven element to a bib, such as a woven cloth layer to provide absorbency or strength, has the disadvantage that such woven constructions increase the cost of the bib. The costs of woven structures make such structures impractical for use in disposable bibs.
Attempting to reduce tearing of the bib by merely increasing the tensile strength of one or more components of the bib is also generally not satisfactory. For instance, increasing the tensile strength of the bib, such as by merely changing the thickness of one of the bib components, generally results in an undesirable increase in stiffness. Further, increasing the tensile strength can result in higher material costs or added complexity of manufacture.
More importantly, the Applicants have found that merely increasing the tensile strength of the bib does not necessarily reduce the in use incidence of tearing of the bib. Applicants have discovered that incidence of tearing of the bib is correlated with a property hereinafter referred to as the Notched Tear Resistance (NTR) of the bib. The Notched Tear Resistance is a determination of the force required to tear a previously notched sample of a substrate into two separate pieces.
Additionally, the Applicants have invented a disposable bib having an NTR which substantially reduces the incidence of tearing of the bib without substantially increasing the stiffness of the bib. The inventive bib also provides the reduced incidence of tearing without requiring an excessively high bib peak tensile strength.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a disposable bib which resists tearing.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a disposable bib which resists tearing yet is relatively flexible.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a disposable bib which resists tearing yet has a peak tensile strength below a threshold value.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a disposable bib without the use of woven elements, wherein the bib resists tearing and is relatively flexible.